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Re: What type of attendance are you expecting at tonight's game?

When I mention support, it didn't nesscessarily mean going to every game. I'm talking seeing people wearing fan gear, water cooler talk, where it was definitely evident that the city has the team back like the Colts. That's all I'm saying. I STILL feel like the city is

Colts>>IU>>>>Pacers and that's sad, how can you have a COLLEGE outrank a GREAT professional basketball team?

Easily. IU has been around longer. Many people living in Indy went to IU, creating a bond that just doesn't happen with a professional team. IU has a rich history and pretty good team right now as well.

I'm not saying IU is bigger than the Pacers in the city as I have no idea. But just because one is college and one is pro, I don't think that really matters in terms of popularity. Even if the Bobcats start becoming contenders, I don't see them ever taking over UNC and Duke.

Re: What type of attendance are you expecting at tonight's game?

Easily. IU has been around longer. Many people living in Indy went to IU, creating a bond that just doesn't happen with a professional team. IU has a rich history and pretty good team right now as well.

I'm not saying IU is bigger than the Pacers in the city as I have no idea. But just because one is college and one is pro, I don't think that really matters in terms of popularity. Even if the Bobcats start becoming contenders, I don't see them ever taking over UNC and Duke.

BUT couldn't you also say there is an entire 2 generations of people who grew up watching good Pacer teams. Certainly that should form an everlasting Bond with the team, and they didn't even half to pay tuition.

Re: What type of attendance are you expecting at tonight's game?

BUT couldn't you also say there is an entire 2 generations of people who grew up watching good Pacer teams. Certainly that should form an everlasting Bond with the team, and they didn't even half to pay tuition.

Its not the same. I became a fan of all my favorite teams around the same time, and until I went to college there wasn't much of a difference between my love for PSU football and Eagles football. But being at the school, you just develop a family type bond with the team, the fans, everything. That attachment you get from college athletics is just really something that can't be matched by pro sports in my opinion.

Re: What type of attendance are you expecting at tonight's game?

Seriously, I wish people who don't live here would stop chiming in on this. The support from the city and state is fine. We all have jobs, families, lives. There are 41 home pacer games a year, many of them taking place at 7pm on week days and some of them often during months with terrible weather.

The Colts play 8 home games a year typically on Sundays or very occasionally a Monday or Thursday night. It's a lot easier to get to those games.

If you don't live here please stop saying how you "don't understand Indianapolis/Indiana". Because the truth is what you mean to say is you just don't know. It's really easy to say "If I lived there I'd go to every game!" and kudos you may do exactly that, but not everyone will and that doesn't mean we have bad fans.

EDIT: And now since you've opened this pet peeve for me, you have to realize this, Indiana isn't that big of a state. Yet we manage and have managed to support, two major pro sports franchises for 30 years while being within throwing distance of one of the biggest fan base sucks in professional sports, that is Chicago. We also while doing that support, three very major colleges (you're welcome Purdue fans ) all with pretty decently established sporting histories. We also support Final Fours, Big Ten Tournaments, Big Ten championships, motor racing, swimming and lots of other events and we do it while stealing it from huge cities and states with much larger population bases. Our Super Bowl is widely regarded as one of the best ever and not just because of the game, but because the city kicked *** and took names for a whole 7-10 days and put on a ****ing show the likes of which New York (New Jersey) will try to replicate and probably fail.

There are maybe two places in the entire country that can compete with Indy/Indiana for supporting lots of sports, Boston and Chicago IMO.

This was just an absolutely fantastic post. I've been defending the citizens of Indianapolis from the trashing they've received for attendance, but your post articulated it better than any I've ever seen.

The Pacers completely destroyed their brand for a six year period. A brawl that became a national incident? Check. Embarrassing and scary off the court incidents? Check. Unlikable selfish players? Check. Then we got rid of the bad seeds and replaced them with bad players and Jim O'Brien coaching. All of the losing certainly wasn't going to bring people back either. I really do think it would be impossible for a sports franchise to do more to destroy their goodwill than the Pacers did from 04-10.

The bottom line is that when you completely nuke your once proud brand like the Pacers did from 04-10, it takes a little bit of time to fix things. The seeds were laid in the 2011 playoffs and throughout the 2011-12 season. People began to take notice and we had great playoff crowds. Then last year was obviously the turning point. I think that the New York series will forever be seen as the complete rebirth of the fanbase. We beat a hyped team from a mega market and were able to play on the 90's Hicks-Knicks memories. It was just the perfect storm. Everything that happened after that against Miami was complete icing on the cake. Now the fan base is just in complete full swing. It's great to see the rebirth of Pacer Pride.

As you say, the people around here support a crap ton of sports for a small market. And the Indianapolis taxpayers have given a ton to these teams. The Colts and Pacers should both be grateful to play in such a wonderful community.

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Re: What type of attendance are you expecting at tonight's game?

I mean, the brawl is one thing. But we had a player and his boys literally get in a shootout with automatic weapons on our streets. And that wasn't even the first shooting incident! Looking back on that era is just insane. We're honestly lucky nobody got killed.

Re: What type of attendance are you expecting at tonight's game?

I mean, the brawl is one thing. But we had a player and his boys literally get in a shootout with automatic weapons on our streets. And that wasn't even the first shooting incident! Looking back on that era is just insane. We're honestly lucky nobody got killed.

Great. Shawne Williams is involved in another police report this morning, after a murder suspect from Memphis was arrested outside of Shawne's home.

Gary Bohannon aka Roosevel Rollins is the multiple-identity genius who copped to marijuana possession when Shawne was stopped by police back in September. At that time, we were led to believe the bad characters in Shawne's ride were friends of friends of relatives and Shawne was just showing them around town. Kind of hard to plead ignorance now, after being affiliated with the same guy twice.

This is beyond painful. The Pacers are far past being a joke around town. In fact, this incident may not even register with many because they just don't care any more. Yesterday my kid's piano teacher made a crack out of the blue about the Pacers needing someone who could score. She has no idea I follow the team so closely, it was just an off-hand comment. Need a laugh, use the Pacers. Usually I defend the blue and gold to layer some reality over the perception, but I didn't even bother. A day later reality has fortified the perception once again.

Re: What type of attendance are you expecting at tonight's game?

At the risk of digging up the dead horse and beating it some more...

Sitting in 112 last night completely surrounded by Bulls fans. Out of a section of 75, probably 15 were Pacers fans. I know the number because with 2mins to go the section was nearly empty, like a Tuesday night with the Cavs in town.

And so it shall be and there is no use whining. Its a perfect storm. Chicago is only 3 hours away. The population in Chicago is more than 3x greater than Indy. A lot of the Jordanaires cannot get seats to the United Center because they have an enormous corporate tix base which limits availability to the great unwashed. And if you have ever been in the neighborhood where the Jordan Center is located, Downtown Indy is like Emerald City. Indy is cheap and they can watch without being harassed (though we did our best to annoy the hell out of them.).

We have had mini packages since the 90's although I will admit we took a vacation during the O'Neal/Jackson/Tinsley days.

Our kids are now gone and we moved downtown. If the spirit moves us, and the game is not part of our package, we go to the games. Like last night. It suxed sitting around so many Bulls fans but its nothing new. Nobody remembers when Bird/Celtics came to town? And I wish I had a dollar for every jersey I see at BLF that says, James, Wade, Bryant, Durant.

But its a star league and a lot of people are frontrunners. Because its easy and they're lazy.

As I always till the Mrs., want to stop seeing the Lebron jerseys? Win. Shut them up and have a little tykes start asking for a Paul George jersey for Christmas.

Instead of criticizing folks, encourage them to come...to see a really nice basketball team.

Re: What type of attendance are you expecting at tonight's game?

I mean, the brawl is one thing. But we had a player and his boys literally get in a shootout with automatic weapons on our streets. And that wasn't even the first shooting incident! Looking back on that era is just insane. We're honestly lucky nobody got killed.

Outside of literally the nicest hotel in the entire state. A guy got shot in the hotel's ****ing lobby for crying out loud after a high speed chase down the interstate.

Re: What type of attendance are you expecting at tonight's game?

Its not the same. I became a fan of all my favorite teams around the same time, and until I went to college there wasn't much of a difference between my love for PSU football and Eagles football. But being at the school, you just develop a family type bond with the team, the fans, everything. That attachment you get from college athletics is just really something that can't be matched by pro sports in my opinion.

I have to disagree, I grew up a Pacers fan. I was going to games as a kid 8-9 years old watching Detlef Shrimpf, Chuck Person, Vern Flemming, Haywood Workman, Rik Smits. That formed my basketball identity. I went to IUPUI for college and I attended games there as well. They were fun and had a great atmosphere, but lets face it, outside of Valpo I hadn't even ever heard of their opponents most game. I haven't been back to an IUPUI game since my college days. Its all about geography. Obviously there is nothing in State College, PA but PSU Football. Just like in Bloomington there is nothing to do sports wise but IU Basketball, but more importantly those teams have been historically good teams to follow.

There are IU faithfull who never attended the university. Go figure that one out.